


All That Glitters

by howterrifying



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, molliarty - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howterrifying/pseuds/howterrifying
Summary: Jim Moriarty realises that he cannot gamble so easily on his life anymore. Not when there is value attached to his life now, even if he doesn't deserve it.
Relationships: Molly Hooper & Jim Moriarty, Molly Hooper/Jim Moriarty
Comments: 8
Kudos: 91





	All That Glitters

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been wanting to write this story for a long time. It's one of those rare stories where I had all the plot points written very clearly from start to finish. So it was just a matter of expanding the skeleton and in doing so, I end up discovering more things about their love for each other and what they really mean to each other. This is one of the best things about writing characters you love - when they develop in ways that you never expect to find. I had not realised how deep their love could go and it honestly just made my cold dead heart sing again. x

**All That Glitters  
**  
The silver briefcase on Jim Moriarty’s lap would rattle ever so slightly every time the car turned a sharp corner or went over a hump a little too quickly. Every so often, Jim would casually tap his fingers atop the briefcase, as though communicating back to the stolen gems inside that they were perfectly safe in spite of the somewhat bumpy ride.  
  
“Almost there,” he murmured to himself, glancing casually out of the car window.  
  
The meeting place had been decided by the clients and Jim never had any problems with that. Not when he had eyes and ears everywhere anyway. The safest time to meet was always about two or three o’clock in the wee hours of the morning for such exchanges. Jim stepped out of his car, dusted his lapels out of habit and entered the brick building before him.  
  
“Nice place,” Jim said, hearing his voice echo in the spacious garment factory.  
“It’s a good cover for the real business,” came the voice of one of them, “I’m sure you know what I mean.”  
“Hmm yes, I do,” Jim replied, walking up to the small gathering of people before him.  
  
His clients were a pair – a sister and brother pair. They stood shoulder to shoulder and were flanked by two bodyguards on each side of them.  
  
“You have them?” asked the brother.  
“Yu-p.” answered Jim, pointing comically to the silver briefcase in his hand.  
“ _All_ of them?” asked the sister, taking a step forward.  
“With your reputation, do you think I’d take any chances?” Jim remarked with a laugh.  
“We like to be careful,” the sister replied sharply.  
“And _I_ …like to do business properly,” Jim remarked placing his free hand on his chest. “I’m an honest businessman.”  
  
The sister glanced back at her brother and nodded. He then turned behind where it was too dark to see and snapped his fingers once.  
  
In that one snap – that one click of his thumb and middle finger – a flurry of sound and movement happened.  
  
First, Jim found that the two bodyguards of his own had been snatched and gagged. The sister and her two guards surrounded Jim and he found himself staring down the barrels of each of their guns.  
  
There was that temptation to roll his eyes or break into giggles, as was Jim’s regular reaction when he found himself in such situations. He had not spent years in the criminal underworld to _not_ be prepared for such betrayals.  
  
“Oh my…” Jim remarked, raising his eyebrow in feigned shock.  
“Leave the gems,” the sister began, “And you might leave with your life intact.”  
“But _what_ about my _money_?” Jim exclaimed in fake exasperation, theatrically putting his free palm to the side of his face.  
“Letting you leave with your life should be payment enough, surely,” said the sister with a smirk.  
  
Jim dropped his palm from his face and paused to look down at his perfectly shined shoes. He tapped his right foot, then the left, then the right again two more times. All eyes and ammunition remained frozen and aimed at the impossibly calm figure of Jim Moriarty.  
  
Jim Moriarty was a criminal mastermind, but more importantly –  
He was an _honest_ businessman.  
  
So when he finally looked up, there were no more raised eyebrows in mock horror or theatrical jaw drops. Jim’s eyes went absolutely vacant and cold as though they were made of glass – _hollow_ glass.  
  
“You’re not the only one with magic fingers,” he whispered, a slow grin appearing on his face.  
  
 _Snap_.  
  
With one click of his fingers, every single member of the sister-brother team had a myriad of dancing red dots on their chests. Jim had eyes and ears everywhere, and where necessary, those eyes and ears would turn to snipers.  
  
“Not a bad exchange, I suppose,” Jim continued, “You take my life, I take all of yours. Not. Too. Shabby.”  
  
This usually did the trick. Jim waited for the usual look of mortification to form on his enemies’ faces but to his slight annoyance, there was nothing.  
  
“Counteroffer,” the sister whispered, the smirk returning to her face.  
  
It seemed Jim was not the only one who had come prepared.  
  
Out of the darkness behind the brother and his team of guards came two more of their guards and a third figure who was not a part of their team. When the three stepped out of the shadows and light hit the face of the person in the middle, it was not Jim’s jaw that dropped.  
  
It was his heart.  
  
“Molly…” Her name slipped out before he could stop himself.  
  
The sister laughed at his moment of vulnerability and clicked her tongue in disbelief.  
  
“I thought they were just rumours,” she continued, “I’m almost honoured I got to verify them.”  
  
Jim placed the briefcase down and raised his arms in an act of surrender.  
  
“Let her go,” he whispered, his teeth clenched.  
“Call off your people,” ordered the sister.  
“You heard her.”  
  
At his words, all the red lights disappeared.  
  
“Jim!” came Molly’s voice, bright and _alive,_ and what relief it gave him. He turned to look at her and saw that although she was still cuffed and closely surrounded by two coarse-looking guards, she was smiling and more importantly, was unharmed. It puzzled him that she looked so, what was the word now – chipper? Yes, she had an inexplicable brightness in her eyes and it puzzled him.  
  
“Jim!” Molly called out to him again. “It’s so good to see you!”  
  
He snapped back to focus on her face again and tried to piece together her reaction and the current situation.  
  
“But Jim, what the _hell_ are you doing?” she asked, almost chuckling.  
“Wh-what?” he frowned, puzzled this time by her question.  
“Call them back!” she exclaimed.  
  
Before Jim could say anything back, Molly swung her head back and knocked the teeth out of the guard behind her right shoulder. She then angled herself slightly to the left and, while propped against the struggling guard gargling his own blood and broken teeth, she kicked the second guard swiftly in his gut and then his knees, causing him to buckle to the ground.  
  
Finally free from their grip, she ran towards Jim, only to find the sister and her two guards swing away from him and point their guns at her. The brother and all the other guards around rushed forward to surround Molly, aiming their guns at her.  
  
“In case you’re wondering, I learnt that from working for Mycroft,” she exclaimed with a smirk. Again, disturbingly chipper.  
  
If Jim was being honest, wondering how she had overcome the two guards was the furthest thing from his mind. He was relieved, of course, but he had other things to focus on.  
  
“Call them back,” asked Molly again.  
“But Molly, you’ll—”  
“Trust me, Jim, just call them back!” she said, trying to look over the circle of guns for Jim’s face. His expression amused her, but she would laugh about it later.  
  
Jim cleared his throat. For the first time in his career, he felt nervous. _Terribly_ nervous.  
  
“You heard her,” he said, complying.  
  
The dancing red dots returned, all aimed on the backs and chests of the circle of people around Molly.  
  
“Tell them to follow my cue,” Molly continued, “Can you get them to do that, Jim?”  
  
Jim blinked rapidly a few times as he processed her request. Although it was Molly who was currently handcuffed, it appeared that he was the one with his hands tied.  
  
“You heard her,” he repeated to them. In any other circumstance, Jim would have had no trouble trusting the woman he loved, but when it was her life they were gambling on, it had been a reluctant choice.  
  
  
It was one of those moments again where, in a split second, a lifetime of events seemed to unfold. Jim saw Molly look carefully in the eyes of all those who surrounded her before suddenly shoutingthe word _NOW_! When she had done so, he saw her duck and roll out from the group that surrounded her. Before he knew it, she had appeared in a heap by his feet while their enemies had collapsed onto each other, each having been shot in one fell swoop by Jim’s expert snipers.  
  
“Molly!” he exclaimed, kneeling to get to her.   
“Look at your face,” she chuckled.  
  
The pair of them were now kneeling on the garment factory floor, facing each other, their noses almost touching.  
  
“Well, aren’t you going to kiss me?” she asked in a mischievous whisper.  
  
There was still a lot of shock in his system. Jim had not remembered a time when he had had so much at stake. He blinked a few times, as though to wipe out the shock from his mind, and looked intently at her. Slowly, he brought his hands to her face and pulled her in for a kiss. The moment he felt that smile of hers against his mouth, he felt himself instantly recalibrate. She was alive, she was safe and she was here, in his arms.  
  
“You should come work for me,” he said, finally able to break into a smile.  
“Mycroft pays better,” she chuckled.  
“Oh, does he now?” Jim exclaimed in mock surprise before chuckling along with her.  
  
Just then, a team of Jim’s people rushed into the building and one of them immediately came to uncuff Molly. When her hands were finally freed, she flung her arms around Jim and exhaled in relief, burying her face in the crook of his neck.  
  
“Why hadn’t you tried to escape before?” Jim asked, whispering as he tightened his grip around her. It seemed the shock was now entering her system and it was his turn to help her recalibrate.   
  
“I hadn’t dared try anything until I could see you,” she answered.  
“But you handled them so easily…”  
“I needed to be sure you were safe,” Molly continued, “When they came to get me, I wasn’t sure what they wanted with you.”  
  
Her words shook Jim. They shook him at a depth he had not realised was possible. As far as Jim was concerned, his own life was disposable. He was happy to die if was funny enough, or if it proved a point, or if it meant business could go on. To know that Molly could have died just to ensure he was safe set fire to everything he thought he knew or believed before.  
  
“You mustn’t do that again, Molly,” he whispered fiercely to her, “Certainly not for me.”  
“Don’t tell me what to do, Jim Moriarty,” she whispered back just as fiercely.  
  
They paused in their anger at each other and then broke into laughter again. If he could have held her any tighter, he would have. The pair of them eventually released their grip on each other and got up. Together with Molly, Jim walked over to pick up the silver briefcase.  
  
“So it seems I’ve landed myself a small fortune, free of charge,” Jim remarked in amusement.  
“What are you doing to do now?” asked Molly.  
  
Jim turned to her and was momentarily tempted to kiss her again but remembered she had asked a question and was expecting an answer.  
  
“I don’t know, really,” he said with a shrug. “I am in no need for any rare jewels at the moment…”  
“Then return them,” said Molly decisively.  
  
He paused to look at Molly again. When he saw the earnestness in her eyes, he remembered the goodness that he saw in her that he could never find in himself. Even though this very part of her was the reason they were the world’s worst match, it did not tarnish the fact that she was heaven sent in every aspect.  
  
“For you, Molly Hooper, I will,” he replied, finally stealing the kiss that had distracted him earlier.

* * *

  
“How did you get invited to this?” Molly whispered, in awe of the grandiosity that surrounded them.  
“I have my ways. I _love_ galas and fancy dos like this. Surely you know that, Molly,” Jim said with a smirk.  
  
It was no random gala or fancy do that they were at. Jim had, in his own way, gotten them invited to the celebration of the return of the very gems he had stolen. As they made their way through an ocean of tuxedos and couture gowns, they found themselves standing before the well-guarded, velvet-rope-surrounded glass case of said gems.  
  
“This is your first time seeing them, isn’t it?” Jim whispered to Molly.  
“Yes, and they really are… _unspeakably_ gorgeous,” she whispered in awe.  
  
There was no doubt about that. Even for Jim Moriarity, who had seen his fair share of the world’s most secret treasures and wealth, he had to admit these gems _really_ were something.  
  
“They catch the light in the most remarkable way,” Jim said, unable to contain his awe. “Perhaps I should have kept a few of them…”  
“Well, you know what they say, all that glitters is not gold. Don’t get distracted by shiny things, Jim,” said Molly with a laugh.  
  
Jim laughed too at her statement and turned to admire the slight flush in her cheeks and that glimmer in her eyes whenever she laughed. _What a beautiful face_ , he thought to himself.  
  
“It’d have made a rather lovely necklace for you,” he said with a shrug.  
“I’d rather not adorn myself with stolen jewels, thank you very much,” Molly said with a soft chuckle.  
“I can’t deny that it would’ve looked very nice against your skin.”  
“Then you’ll just have to make do with my skin, sans necklace, if that’s all right with you.”  
  
He paused at her remark and when he turned to look at her, he found her eyes on him already, a small fire dancing in her pupils.  
  
“Sans necklace… is fine with me,” Jim said, almost tripping on his words.  
“Good,” she said, deliberately moving her gaze away from him and back to the jewels. A smile played on her lips and it distracted Jim no end.  
  
“Still thinking about the gems?” she asked, fixing her eyes on the glass case.  
  
Jim had long forgotten about the gems and was now most distracted by the delicate slope of her neck down to her collarbone.  
  
“What gems?” he answered, taking her hand in his.  
  
Together, they fled the building, laughing, as they raced to Jim’s waiting car. Once inside, there were no more shiny distractions as Jim focused on the infinitely more precious jewel he knew he would never deserve.  
  
All that glittered was ultimately not what he wanted. What he wanted – was simply, _her_.  
  
 **END  
**  
  



End file.
